A lawyer and public speaker, Toye Sobande, has said that the key to effective leadership is building a harmonious relationship between leaders and followers.
He said that while more attention is given to the leader, it takes more than one person to achieve group goals in leadership.
Sobande said this on Tuesday in Lagos during the launch of his book titled, ‘Leadership and organisational politics: How to win office politics and thrive in a competitive environment’.
He said, “The followers and the leaders are vital to understanding leadership development as a process.”
Sobande who is also the Lead consultant and president of Stephens Leadership Consultancy, said politics plays out in every area of human endeavour.
“Wherever there are two or more people, there will be politics and as a result, conflict is inevitable. Differences in personality, leadership style, culture, and value system make this so. Personalities will often clash in organisations where this diversity is inevitable. However, individuals can manage clashes effectively
“Like it or not, no office or organisation is free from politics. Man is by nature a political being. Thus, he is innately wired to compete. So naturally there will be politics, competition, and conflict between two or more people.”
The author however said, most programs fail to reckon that leadership is a process.
“Most leadership development programmes fail to reckon that leadership is a process of influence that involves an ongoing transaction between a leader and followers. Each of whom is likely to shift from being in the role of a leader to being a follower.”
Speaking on his new book, Sobande said that the book considers leadership development from a follower’s perspective and attempts to provide answers to relatable questions.
Speaking further, he said that the book will help positional leaders in corporate and non-corporate employees and managers, navigate through organisational politics.
